At the End of the Line
by Bluejay Blaze
Summary: Prepare for tears. Last night, I came up with a way One Piece could end that made me both laugh and cry, and I felt the need to share it with anyone who'll read. Oh, cruel irony!


They'd finally done it. The Straw Hats landed on Raftel,having fought their way through the remaining Navy and Shichibukai on the last island. Shanks and his crew were with them, a bemused smile on the redhead's face.

"So, you've finally done it, eh Luffy?"

"Almost!" Luffy beamed. "Just a little longer, okay? Then you can have your hat back."

Shanks patted the smaller pirate's head. "Keep it, brat. You can't be the Straw Hat Pirates without a straw hat."

"But-"

"Just keep it."

"Okay."

The older pirate watched with pride as the younger entered Roger's hiding place. He'd always known Luffy could do it, could find the treasure and the answers. Now he just hoped the boy could deal with them.

-OP-

The cave was a long, winding tunnel. Despite the lack of branches, they only kept Zoro from getting lost by tying him to Luffy as the eager captain ran forward. As they neared the end, golden light shone around the corner.

It came from the treasure chamber. The room was larger, though not as large as some would've thought, and filled with an assortment of objects. There were heaps of gold and jewels, a couple of famous swords, and beautiful works of art. A shelf at the back was filled with ancient, forbidden books. Half-covered by a tapestry was a poneglyph larger than they'd seen before. And yet, the light filtering into the cavern focused on none of this.

Instead, the golden beam ended on a small stone pedestal, atop which sat a worn, leather book. Luffy immediately gravitated towards it.

Inside were old photographs. Many showed Gol D. Roger and his crew, laughing and partying together as pirates were wont to do. But even more showed the Pirate King with a woman. She had strawberry blonde hair and a mass of cute freckles; Luffy immediately knew who she was. Ace's mom.

There were pictures of the happy couple having a picnic and swimming at the beach, Roger's ship in the background. Some of the photos were funny, like a few where Rouge was trying to teach Roger to ride a horse- it didn't seem to have gone well. There were photos of their secret wedding, with Rouge in white and Roger in his red captain's jacket. Luffy smiled. All the pictures showed love- family.

Near the end, a couple of photos showed Rouge pregnant, Roger's hand on her belly. Ace. Luffy's eyes began to sting.

On the very last page of the scrapbook was a note. Luffy read it carefully. As he read, tears began to stream from his eyes.

 _To whatever sea-dog is reading this,_

 _Congratulations, I guess. You've found my wealth- or what I didn't spend of it, at least. You've reached the end of the Grand Line. The world probably fears and respects you in equal measure. Unfortunately for you, the most important treasure isn't here._

 _One Piece refers to the piece of my heart that will live on after I leave this world: my family. Kingship is hereditary, isn't it? My wife Rouge was with child when I had to turn myself in. I'll leave it to them to choose the next Pirate King._

 _Gol D. Roger_

 _P.S. If you're the one reading this, Garp, how does it feel to know I'm letting you catch me? You never really beat me, crazy Monkey._

Luffy's crewmates jumped when he started bawling. The scrapbook fell from his hands with a thud. Zoro, nearest to his captain, pulled Luffy into an awkward hug. Tears soaked into the swordsman's chest.

"What's wrong Captain?" Even Robin's normally unshakable voice was filled with concern.

"Ace!" Luffy pulled away from Zoro and rubbed his eyes, still crying. "Ace- my brother was the One Piece..."

That stunned the Straw Hats. Usopp was the first to find his voice again.

"But... didn't Rayleigh say he knew where the One Piece was? And he didn't say anything even after- after Marineford?"

"I asked him not to." Luffy's voice was small. "Remember? I said I didn't want to know, that it wasn't worth being Pirate King without the adventure."

"But even after..." Nami sighed. "He should've told you."

For a while, everything was silent. Then Luffy spoke up.

"I guess that means Whitebeard was the next Pirate King after all. Ace was on his crew and always went on about making the old man king." The rubber man flopped forwards, back into Zoro's chest.

"Maybe..." Robin sounded like she was trying very hard not to be insensitive about whatever she was going to say. "But he's dead now. And Whitebeard never wanted to be king, did he? I thought he intended to give the title to one of his sons."

Suddenly, Brook burst out laughing. The rest of the crew stared at the skeleton in shock. It took several minutes for the musician to calm himself enough to speak. When he did, he only confused the others more.

"Luffy, you and Ace grew up together, yes?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you, as his little brother, were his most precious person for a very long time, yes?"

"I guess." Luffy peeked at Brook dubiously. "It was just us for... almost seven years. Unless Sabo counts? We didn't know he'd survived." The captain paled, a horrible realization coming over him. "Oh no! Ace never knew! He died still thinking Sabo was dead!" Fresh tears poured over the rubber face.

Zoro patted his captain's back, trying to calm Luffy down. He was only partially successful.

One by one, the other Straw Hats realized what Brook was hinting at. It made them smile, then start to laugh. Luffy stared at his nakama in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

"Only you Luffy..." Nami covered her face with her hand. "Only you could be King of the Pirates for _more than ten years_ and not notice."

"Huh?"

It was eventually Sanji who took pity on his captain and explained. "Ace was Roger's greatest treasure- family. You were Ace's family. Do you get it yet, Shitty Rubber? Ace chose you without either of you knowing. You found the One Piece when you got him to be your brother."

Luffy began bawling loudly enough to wake the dead. Eventually Shanks heard and raced into the cave, where the other Straw Hats had to explain what had upset their captain. Shanks' jaw dropped to the floor.

"Wait... You're telling me Anchor became King of the Pirates less than a year after I gave him that hat? When he didn't have a ship or a crew or _anything_?"

The Straw Hats nodded. Shanks burst out laughing.

"It's a good thing our promise was based on him being a strong pirate then, and not just finding the One Piece. Having to acknowledge a seven year old as my king would've been embarrassing."

"Why is everyone laughing?" Luffy hiccoughed. "It's not funny! I've come all this way and learned my- my brother was the treasure I was looking for the whole time, and- and he's not even here to see it! His one regret was that- that he couldn't see me grow up to fulfill my dream!"

It took the combined efforts of Zoro and Shanks to calm the hysterical rubber man. When they finally did, Shanks met Luffy's tears with a smile.

"But Anchor, he did. You've been living your dream ever since you met him- just because he didn't know doesn't mean it's not true. So he didn't have to regret anything."

Luffy sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "Oh... right..." Looking around the cave, the Pirate King sighed. "I'd rather have Ace back than any of the stuff here."

"I know Anchor, I know..."

 **A/N: *sigh* Bad ending is bad. I just couldn't come up with an acceptable way to wrap this one up. Possibly because I distracted myself with too many feels...**


End file.
